Date:  Thu, 23 Nov 1995 09:14:48 -0500

From:  "Allan M. Siegal" <siegal[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]NYTIMES.COM>

Subject: Re: The Automat



On Nov 23, 1995 07:11:09, 'SETH SKLAREY <crissiet[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]IPOF.FLA.NET>' wrote:



> I believe the places were

>called Horn & Hardardt's Automat, but it was a long time ago. Can anybody



>add some info?



    The last working Automat, at Lexington Avenue and 42d Street, closed 10 or

15 years ago. It became a Horn & Hardart (sic) restaurant with table

service. The greatest loss was the nickel ladies -- those wonders who could

dip a hand into a bucket of nickels and weigh out a precise dollar's worth

without looking, for customers needing change for the slots.



    An Automat -- nonworking, too bad -- is preserved on the ground floor of

the Museum of History and Technology at the Smithsonian.



    But we digress.

--

Allan M. Siegal........................siegal[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]nytimes.com

Assistant Managing Editor

The New York Times